Instant Classic

Wow...what a finish. The Wolverines win one of the wildest games in Big House history in a fantastic way to christen night games here in Ann Arbor. Denard started 2/11, then finished 9/13 to lead a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Denard put up 446 yards of offense, 338 in the air with 4 TDs and 3 INTs and 108 yards rushing with one TD (that's 948 yards alone in the last two games against Notre Dame for Shoelace). Hemingway had a massive 165 yards on three receptions, and one 43 yard TD. Tommy Rees was Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, with 315 yards passing and 3 TDs, but 3 TOs (2 INT, 1 fumble). But the most stunning aspect of the game was the final 1:12: 21 yard TD pass to Vincent Smith for Michigan's first lead of the game, 28-24, then at :30 Notre Dame re-takes the lead with a 29 yard TD pass to Theo Riddick to make it 31-28, before Denard finds Jeremy Gallon for a 64 yard pass to put Michigan on the 16 with 0:09, and then with 0:02 left

finds Roy Roundtree for the 16 yard TD pass to win the game. More to come this week on Extra points and Daily Sports Reports...

LIVE: Michigan Football v. Notre Dame

Tune in at 8:00 pm as the Michigan Wolverines take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish under the lights in the first ever night game at the University of Michigan.

USTREAM LINK

Bill Rothwell, Chris Kudialis, and Jeff Turner on the call.

Notre Dame starting QB

Just a quick update before the Michigan-Notre Dame game this Saturday night, as Brian Kelly has announced that sophomore QB Tommy Rees will start the game against the Wolverines. Rees was the superior quarterback over Senior QB Dayne Crist in last week's game against South Florida, going 24/34 for 296 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs while Crist produced a mediocre line of 7/15 for 95 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT. Rees saw very little action in last year's Denard emergence, going 0/2 with an INT. Much more to come about Michigan Stadium's first night game as the week progresses...

LIVE: Michigan Football v. Western Michigan

Tune in at 3:30 pm as the Michigan Wolverines take on the Western Michigan Broncos to open the 2011 season and Coach Brady Hoke's tenure.

USTREAM LINK

Andrew Goddeeris, Bill Rothwell, and Kevin Carpenter on the call.

Podcast: 2011 Michigan Schedule Breakdown

The WCBN crew breaks down the 2011 Michigan football schedule. Special guest Tim Rohan, Sports Editor at the Michigan Daily, joins us in studio. Follow him at @TimRohan on Twitter.

PODCAST LINK

Unfortunately we lost the part of the preview in which we broke down the roster, but it may have been for the best. Stay tuned for more podcasts throughout the year.

2011 Michigan Volleyball Preview

After a 23-10 effort and a program-best fourth-place Big Ten finish in 2010, the Michigan volleyball team returns to action ranked #24 in the country in 2011, but with a major hole to fill. The Wolverines lose their all-time greatest player in four-time AVCA All-America setter Lexi Zimmerman, and will have to replace her while turning to senior captains Alex Hunt and Sloane Donhoff to lead the team through the toughest conference in the NCAA.

Senior captain Alex Hunt.

Senior captain Sloane Donhoff.

Roster

Lexi Zimmerman, defensive specialist Maggie Busch, and right side hitter Amanda Yerke are gone from the 2010 Wolverines. Zimmerman is clearly the major loss here, as Yerke played sparingly, and while a solid contributor, Maggie Busch can be replaced by Ally Sabol and Brittany Lee.

Michigan has three incoming freshmen in 2011. Walk-on middle blocker Olivia Reed will almost certainly see very limited playing time this season, as the Wolverines are solid at her position. Under Armor All-American Lauren Teknipp, a 6-2 MB from McDonough, GA should have a better chance of seeing the court, and she comes in as one of Michigan's higher rated recruits in recent years. The most important incoming freshman, though, is the confusingly-named Lexi Dannemiller, a 5-11 setter from West Chester, OH. An Under Armor All-American in 2010, she is the odds-on favorite to win the setting job this season, a job she'll compete for with junior Catherine Yager. Expectations are sky-high for Dannemiller, who perhaps cruelly will be asked to live up to the bar set by the Lexi she replaces.

As mentioned, Michigan should be solid up the middle this season. Sophomore Jennifer Cross, a unanimous 2010 All-Big Ten Freshman selection, led the squad with 111 blocks last season, and will also look to improve upon her impressive 2.31 kills/set and .316 hitting percentage marks. Cross' development will be key for the Wolverines this season - she's already in my estimation Michigan's third-best player, and is far from reaching her potential. Cross is joined by 6-3 fifth-year senior Karlee Bruck, who hit an impressive .328% last season. 6-4 senior Courtney Fletcher rounds out a very solid MB stable for Michigan. Fletcher hit .280% last season and registered 68 total blocks.

The outside and right side hitting positions will be critical for Michigan this season. With a new setter in the middle, developing a rhythm and relationship will be crucial, and outside of Alex Hunt, question marks abound. Hunt, a unanimous 2011 All-Big Ten Preseason selection and 2010 All-American, will be once again asked to carry the load from the OH position. She registered 503 kills in 2010, good for 4.41 K/S, and will look to improve upon her .255 hitting percentage. She has the potential to go down as one of Michigan's all-time greats with another big year. On the right side, redshirt junior Claire McElheny needs to have another strong campaign, following up on her 2.25 K/S mark and .262 hitting percentage from last season. How well Michigan performs this year may well turn on the ability of sophomores Molly Toon and Lexi Erwin to make big leaps from last year. Each hit at disappointing low clips, and their development will be something to watch. So much of the success of this season depends on the ability of the new setter to click with her hitters, something we won't really be able to gauge until a few matches into the season.

Senior captain Sloane Donhoff started all 33 games last season at libero for Michigan, and all expectations are that she'll do the same this season. Donhoff is fifth all-time at Michigan in digs, and like Hunt, could end her 2011 campaign amongst Michigan's best ever. Sophomore Ally Sabol will continue to serve as Donhoff's back-up, and will come on as a substitute to serve frequently.

Old Lexi.

New Lexi.

Coaching

2011 will mark coach Mark Rosen's 13th year behind the helm for Michigan. 239-152 in his career in Ann Arbor, Rosen is Michigan's all-time winningest coach, taking the Wolverine program to new heights during his tenure. Assistant coach Amanda Ault left after last season to take the head coaching position at George Washington University, and she has been replaced by former Cincinnati assistant Erin Virtue, who coached liberos and setters for the Bearcats.

Schedule

Full schedule lives here.

Michigan's 2010 season was a tale of two teams. 12-1 at Cliff Keen, Michigan struggled to a 5-9 mark away from Ann Arbor, so of course Michigan begins the season with three straight tournaments on the road. The Wolverines will be tested by Morehead State and Cal Poly early on, and a good early season indicator of where the team stands will come at the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic, with a solid field headlined by #19 Dayton, and rounded out by #26 Pepperdine and #30 Florida State. Michigan returns home to host the Michigan/adidas Invitational September 16-17, and B1G play begins the following weekend in Indiana at the Hoosiers and Boilermakers.

The Big Ten will be stronger than it ever has been before, boasting seven teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, including #1 and four-time defending national champions Penn State, and B1G newcomers in #5 Nebraska. Illinois (#8), Minnesota (#12), Purdue (#13), Ohio State (#21), and Michigan (#24) are also ranked. Last season Michigan went 12-8 in conference for a fourth-place finish, but they'll face an uphill battle to repeat or surpass that mark this season. Marquee games will be Nebraska's first trip to Ann Arbor on October 1, and trips to Illinois, Penn State, and Minnesota.

Nebraska will find Cliff Keen, er, quaint.

Predictions

Optimism abounds!

Though they lose a heck of a lot with the departure of Lexi Zimmerman, the Wolverines return tons of talent in 2011. The question is how well Coach Rosen and Co. can harness that talent while breaking in a new setter, all the while facing an extremely tough conference slate.

I think Lexi Dannemiller will cement herself as the starting setter for this squad, much like Zimmerman did her freshman year, and while she may not equal the AVCA All-America Honorable Mention the Great One posted in her first year in Ann Arbor, we should expect a very strong showing for the touted frosh. Molly Toon will have a breakout year as a compliment to Alex Hunt, and Jennifer Cross will have an All-Big Ten-type season as a sophomore. My gut says that Michigan will emerge from non-conference play with an 11-1 record - expect a loss somewhere in the Dayton tournament.

Here's where I go out on a massive limb, and maybe's it's because I'm a senior, and maybe it's because I fashion myself as the "Official Voice" of Michigan volleyball and want a fun season ahead, but I'm going to boldly predict that this Michigan team registers its finest Big Ten campaign yet and goes 13-7 in conference. Michigan only plays 5 conference road games against teams ranked higher than them, and I expect the Cliff Keen dominance to continue in 2011. A 13-7 mark won't win them the Big Ten, but it will make for the best B1G regular season finish in program history, and serve as a springboard from which to dive into the NCAA tournament with a 24-8 overall record.

Be sure to get out to Cliff Keen this season and support Michigan volleyball!

Déjà vu sans Goaltender

Fool me once but you won’t fool me twice. Well John, you fooled us twice. The recent de-commitment of incoming freshmen goalie, John Gibson, reminds Michigan fans that an eighteen-year-olds-mind can change in a flash. This is the second straight year Michigan hockey has lost a high profile goalie prospect to the Ontario Hockey League after Jack Campbell went to Windsor last year. Gibson’s de-commitment is even worse because it comes about a month before school starts. When Campbell left to sign elsewhere, it at least left Michigan almost a full season to recruit a new player. Now the coaching staff must scramble if they want to replace Gibson. Most likely Red Berenson will seek a third string goalie (maybe Patrick Summers or someone from the United States Hockey Leagues) then recruit a top prospect for next season. For the time being, Michigan’s NCAA tournament hopes hinge on Hunwick’s health. If that fails, we should hope Adam Janecyk is the second coming of Shawn.

One might (reasonably) ask what is to stop this happening for a third year in a row next year. The reason why is playing time. With Shawn Hunwick graduating at the end of the season, the starting job will be open to any top prospect who wants it. But wouldn’t Gibson get those minutes if he came? Yes, but not until next season. That, and several reasons are why Gibson signed with the Kitchener Rangers. Gibson would have had to fight for playing time with a fifth year senior this year. Kitchener offer more playing time with a better chance of becoming the starter this year. Since being draft by Anaheim in the 2nd round this year’s draft, the NHL dream probably feels closer now. Anaheim probably talked to him about how the OHL has many things to prepare him for the major league: the story of more games, a more NHL-like style of play, more focus on hockey and less on academics, and lastly, he can sign with the Ducks and still play for his junior team, something he couldn’t do in the NCAA.

Gibson should have known all these facts before his commitment to a college program. He knew what Michigan had to offer and what the OHL was all about. He knew he was going to be a high draft choice too. Yes, the USA development program prevents players from signing with an OHL team while they are on the team but his season was over in May. Granted May isn’t much more time to find a replacement but it is better than now. If Gibson thought he wanted to do juniors, he should have de-committed like Campbell back in November before signing day. It is more disheartening that Gibson signed a letter of intent to play for Michigan; a promise to close his recruiting to other colleges and indirectly OHL teams. In the past two weeks 5 players including Gibson have chosen to join OHL teams over their respective college commitments. The alarming part is not the defects; there are a handful of players every year, but the number of top prospects in a short period. It is well over a month past the draft where most de-commitments occur. A player is taken higher than expected, feels the need to fast track to the NHL then jumps to juniors. In all five cases, these players were drafted in their expected range.

The frustrating part: how to stop these poachers. Answer: there really isn't a way yet. The NCAA considers the Canadian junior leagues professional leagues. Athletes playing a second in a OHL game are automatically ineligible to play in the NCAA, but Athletes can leave anytime from the NCAA to join the junior ranks. Once a college loses the recruit, he is lost. Michigan can just sell their school in the best possible way and recruit honest and respectful players. One area college hockey can work on is NHL executives. There is this growing impression that if you are a highly drafted American prospect, you have to play juniors to develop quicker. NHL general managers are encouraging these de-commitments late in the off season. Canadian juniors do not fast track one to the NHL. It just gives an earlier time for NHL teams to sign the player for cheaper, and it gives the young star a nice signing bonus. Very few players, even first rounders make it to the NHL at 18 or 19 years. They are usually signed at age 20 and spend a couple of years in the minor league. Many players are 22 or 23 by the time they are in the NHL full time. An age where college players have or are about to graduate. If you google Josh Unice or Brandon Maxwell, you will find two former American goalies who committed to colleges then backed out to sign with Kitchener. They are no closer to the NHL than John Gibson is. On the other hand, John Gibson is no closer to a world class education than Unice and Maxwell.

by John Zaccardelli

Cherundolo's Absence Destabilizes the U.S. Defense

With the United States men's national soccer team leading Mexico 2-0 in the final of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, getting revenge seemed likely to occur. In fact, with well over half of the match still to be played at the time, it was possible that the Americans would end up equaling the 5-0 score by which Mexico beat the U.S. in the championship match of the 2009 edition of the tournament.

However, the 2011 Gold Cup final turned out to be much closer to a repeat of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup final than a reverse of the 2009 Gold Cup final. Mexico scored the last four goals of the match to win 4-2 and qualify for the 2013 Confederations Cup. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, the U.S. led Brazil 2-0 before losing 3-2.

In this instance against Mexico, a significant substitution that was caused by an injury took place while there was a 1-0 American advantage. Defender Steve Cherundolo's hurt ankle prompted head coach Bob Bradley to substitute Jonathan Bornstein into the match in his place during the 11th minute. As Bornstein entered to play on the left side of the defense, Eric Lichaj moved to the opposite side to take over the right-back position that Cherundolo had been playing very well throughout the Gold Cup. This sequence of moves weakened the U.S. defense prior to the flurry of Mexican goals.

Other players who could have been chosen as the replacement for Cherundolo include Jonathan Spector and Tim Ream. However, either of these changes would have also come with some risk. Spector, like Bornstein, had not previously played in the 2011 Gold Cup at all. Ream entering for the first time since his foul caused a Panamanian penalty kick in the group stage would have involved U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra moving from the center of the defense back to the side of the defense. Taking into account the injury and the choice with which Bradley was faced, it was a problematic situation, and the option to try to repair it that he selected simply did not work out.

Conversely, there were controversial decisions made by Bradley during the tournament that ultimately were enormously successful. Foremost among these is the substitution that brought Freddy Adu into the semifinal match against Panama. Shortly thereafter, Adu made significant progress toward changing the perception of him from someone who had not lived up to a massive amount of hype to someone who might still have a bright future with the national team. 10 minutes after replacing teenage forward Juan Agudelo, Adu made a terrific pass to U.S. star Landon Donovan (another substitute by Bradley in this match), who made one more excellent pass, this one to Clint Dempsey for the only goal of the match that sent the Americans to the final.

So, will we see more of the Bob Bradley who has wonderful strategic judgments or the Bob Bradley who has questionable ones? Moreover, will we see the type of U.S. squad that beat top-ranked and eventual World Cup champion Spain in the Confederations Cup to reach its first-ever final in a FIFA tournament or the type of one that suffered its first-ever Gold Cup group stage loss? Will we see the kind of American team that finished on top of its World Cup group for the first time since 1930 or the kind of one that just surrendered four straight goals to Mexico?

What happens next for the United States men's national soccer team might be shaped by any of these possibilities. Since the U.S. will not be participating in the Confederations Cup for this World Cup cycle, the next big event will be the CONCACAF region's qualification for the 2014 World Cup. For all of the questions surrounding this squad, we do know that the U.S. should be exciting to watch going forward. With a premier goalkeeper like Tim Howard and strong play in the midfield from players such as Dempsey and Donovan, there is reason for optimism. Not consistently defending well is a significant concern. Finally, the development of young forwards Agudelo and Jozy Altidore will affect how formidable the U.S. team is going to be for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Smart Scheduling

How Your Schedule Can Make You A Better Team

As the summer is rolling along, the Michigan hockey team has released its 2011-2012 schedule. Most of the time, people are thinking o.k. that is nice, I do not care who we play and when, all that matters is that we win. However, if one looks a little closer, there are clues in how the coaches think about their team. This is what the 2011-12 schedule shows for the Michigan Wolverines.

Let us start with the non-conference schedule; usually Michigan has one or two early marquee games to show the NCAA committee and RPI they have a tournament quality team. Michigan will be challenged right out the bat with Niagara, St. Lawrence and wait for it… Bentley. Yes, these are not power conference teams fans nor players get excited about. Even later on Union nor Northeastern perk up your ears. It is not until Boston College in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29th that Michigan plays a legit power house team outside the conference.

From a coach’s perceptive, it is smart scheduling. With the graduation of Carl Hagelin and Matt Rust, this team will be young and unproven. The trio of A.J. Treais, Chris Brown, and Kevin Lynch will need to break out and become scoring leaders on this team. The seemingly soft early schedule will give confidence to these juniors and incoming freshmen Zach Hyman, Alex Guptill, and Brennan Serville in the scoring department. The team will only leave Yost ice arena twice in the first two months. The toughest match up in the first half will be going down to Oxford to play a pair with Miami in early November. Michigan could build up enough wins in the first half to roll into January and still be in good position even with tough games against Notre Dame and Miami in back to back weekends. Michigan closes the regular season with a pair against Northern Michigan at home and a pair on the road against lowly Bowling Green. When it comes to selection Sunday, the NCAA committee will be looking for marquee wins outside the conference as well as total wins, play down the stretch, and recent tournament history to determine Michigan's destiny. This schedule, combined with Michigan's tournament hisotory (21 straight tournament appearances) will hopefully put Michigan in a favorable light. Clearly, that is Red's and the rest of the coaching staff's plans. Hey, even if you are not satisfied with Michigan’s opponents, at least you will enjoy Yost’s brand new scoreboard!

-JZ

Let's Talk Baseball Realignment

With the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals now both in the books, and college football still 12 weeks away, I'd say it's high time for our sports focus to shift to the only sport still in season, baseball. The issue I'd like to deal with today is one that has gotten some recent press and will likely be settled in the off-season: realignment. But how will baseball shake up the 6-division format that it's used for the past 18 seasons? I've compiled the 3 best plans (in my opinion) that correct the biggest complaints about modern baseball: uneven divisions (6 teams in NL Central vs. 4 teams in AL West), unbalanced schedules (Orioles play the Yanks 19 times a year), and the small playoffs (which I personally don't mind but it's a given that Selig will add a 5th playoff team to each league)

With these problems in mind, let's look at 3 possible plans for baseball realignment:

Plan A: Keep It Simple

Change: Houston Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West, where they would join the only other Texan team in baseball, the Rangers.

Scheduling: Unbalanced as it is now, with each team playing their division opponents 19 times each (76 total), inter-division opponents 6 or 7 times each (68 total), and 6 series versus inter-league opponents (18 total). For teams with inter-league geographical rivals: (Mets-Yankees, Dodgers-Angels, A's-Giants, Orioles-Nats, Cubs-White Sox, Marlins-Rays, Cardinals-Royals, Indians-Reds), they are guaranteed to play each other 2 series per year (home and home), which will leave them their rivals + 4 other inter-league opponents. For teams without inter-league rivals, they will play 6 different inter-league opponents. There would always have to be one inter-league series happening, meaning that the 6 series for each team would be spread out, averaging about one per month for the entire season.

Playoffs: 5 per league, with each division winner earning a bye and the two wild-card teams playing a best-of-3 series.

Plan B: Balanced Schedule

Change: Houston Astros move from NL Central to AL West.

Scheduling: Balanced (at least more so) . 12 games against division opponents (48 total), 9 or 10 games against inter-division opponents (99 total), 5 series against inter-league opponents (15 games total). For the inter-league scheduling, no rivalries will be taken into account. Each team will play 5 inter-league teams spread out among the 3 divisions, with each team playing a different set of 5 teams each year for a 3 year rotation, so that each team will have played all 15 inter-league opponents over the course of 3 seasons.

Playoffs: Same as A. One variation that could be applied to the plan though would be to play the best-of-3 series entirely at the higher seeded wild-card team's park, giving a bigger advantage for finishing 4th rather than 5th.

Plan C: Party Like It's 1968

Changes: Eliminate divisions. Move Arizona Diamondbacks from National League to American League.

Scheduling: Balanced. For the 14 league opponents, play half of them 12 games each and the other half 9 games each (147 games total). This would rotate, so that over 2 years each team would play all of their league rivals 21 times total and over 4 years have 21 home games against each team. For inter-league opponents, play five teams one series each (15 games total), with each team playing all15 inter-league opponents at least once over the course of 3 seasons.

Playoffs: Top 5 teams in each league qualify, with the top 3 getting a first-round bye and the bottom two qualifiers facing off in a best-of-3 play-in series.


So there we have it, 3 ideas for how to change baseball for next season (and beyond!). Note that I included 5 playoff teams in all 3 plans as baseball seems set on it, but any of the three would work just as well with the current 4-team per league format. My personal favorite is plan B, although I think that people may gripe about losing their inter-league rivalry home and home every year.

I'd love to hear other suggestions or thoughts on these three plans.

Change is definitely coming to baseball, and I'm excited to see what form it takes.

Jim Tressel OUT at OSU

It's official. On this Memorial day morning, Jim Tressel handed in his letter of resignation to school President E. Gordon Gee. This is a complete reversal from March 8, when Tressel said he never considered resigning. However, it had to happen. Tressel knew of his players selling memorabilia and autographs for tattoos before the 2010-11 season. Yet he allowed them to play the whole season, even though he knew their eligibility had been compromised. Then, when asked about it by the NCAA in December whether he knew of these actions, he lied and said no. The cover-up was the final nail in the coffin. How does this impact Michigan? Well, obviously Tressel meant a lot to the Buckeyes, as he was 9-1 against the Wolverines in "The Game." It will be interesting to see where OSU goes from here. They've already said that they will search for a new replacement after the upcoming 2011-12 season, where current assistant coach Luke Fickell will lead the program. No one knows what this season will bring for the Buckeyes, as they will be without their starting QB and RB, as well as some others, for the first five games of the season (admittedly, the very weak non-conference slate. They return when the Big Ten season begins). Will there be players who transfer? Will any other revelations come out? And what will the NCAA meeting in August do to OSU? OSU could very well have wins vacated, be put on probation, and lose scholarships. Or, none of that could happen. But either way, an era has ended in Columbus, and now no one knows what will happen next.

The Director's Seat - Andy's Blog

I figured this could last at least two weeks. The next few Mondays I'll be traveling, so this is the last you'll hear from me for a while. Maybe somebody else will pick up the slack and throw something on the blog while I'm gone.

Entertainment

Arctic Monkeys - Library Pictures

The new Arctic Monkeys album is really good - certainly better than their last album, and in my estimation, better than their sophomore effort as well. This is one of the shorter, faster paced tracks on the LP, but the whole thing is worth a listen. It's streaming online here.

I've listened to a lot of other new music recently, including efforts from Bon Iver, The Vaccines, Givers, and Battles, but nothing has really captivated me, besides perhaps the new Bon Iver. It's not so easy finding new music you love every week.

The big buzz this past weekend was about the release of the Hangover II. I wasn't particularly blown away by the first edition, but it was funny enough, and so I watched the second installment with moderately high expectations. II is, and you'll hear this 100 times, the exact same movie in a different setting, and how you interact with this fact will color your viewing experience. Accept that it's the same movie again, remember that you enjoyed it the first time, and you'll have a pleasant enough time with the second. There are some classic Alan lines, and I laughed out loud more frequently than I did during the first movie, so there's that. All in all, worth a look.

The summer means your favorite shows are going on hiatus, but one you should be watching that will kick off a new season on June 23 is Louie, on FX. I don't know how it took me so long to get around to watching Louis C.K.'s show, but I watched the first season in a couple days, and it's really good. C.K. is hilarious, and a good third of each episode is just him doing standup, which is what he's known for and best at. The rest of the show plays on a down and out Dad theme, and as a sucker for self-deprecating humor, I'm a fan. You've got three weeks to watch the first season before the premiere of the second.

(Inter)national Sports

I hope everyone watched the UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United on Saturday afternoon (evening for me). Because it was dazzling. Barcelona dominated much of the first half but saw the score level at 1 after a glorious strike from Wayne Rooney. Barca came out and completely dominated the second half, and we were treated to some Lionel Messi magic. This will be at least the third place I say it, but it has been a privilege to watch Lionel Messi play football, and I will not soon forget this Barcelona team. After they shredded Arsenal in a much-mocked match in an earlier leg of the Champions League, I have to say I was rather pleased to see United suffer a similar, albeit less embarrassing fate. This Barcelona side will go down as one of the all-time great teams Europe has ever seen, and it's pretty special that we get to watch them. Highlights here, but sure to disappear soon.

The big story yesterday was the FINAL TURN collapse of rookie J.R. Hildebrand at the Indianapolis 500. I didn't see it live, so I know I've missed out on that special quality of watching it as it happened, but it's one of the most incredible things you'll ever see in sports.

There's just something special about live sports, and the sense that ANYTHING can happen and you could be witnessing history. I remember watching a bowling event earlier this year, and one guy had the championship all but sewn up, but inexplicably CRATERED on the last throw and lost. It was bowling, but my jaw was on the floor. Through the magic of the internet, here it is. Relevant portion around 9:20.

The NBA finals start tomorrow night, pitting Dirk and the Mavericks against the Miami Heat and its trio of stars. Better people than myself will preview this somewhere else, I'm sure. I just cannot get into the NBA playoffs. Dirk is a compelling story with his playoff feats, but I don't understand how anyone could be genuinely interested in the Heat. I don't like any of their larger than life superstars, and could not care less about whether or not they win rings. The nature of basketball - that one player can completely dominate a game - turns me off to it, especially in the star-driven league that is the NBA. Spare me the egos and theatrics, please.

Wednesday, however, brings us the Stanley Cup finals, pitting the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins. I'll be shocked if Lord Stanley's Cup doesn't belong to Vancouver at the end of this series - the Sedins are too good, and the Canucks roll too much depth for the Bruins to handle. Tim Thomas will have to be huge for the Bruins to have any chance, and I suspect Roberto Luongo will be equal to the task in net for Vancouver. This should be a fun one to watch on NBC, as long as Pierre's time is as limited as possible.

Michigan Sports

The biggest news of the past week was perhaps the worst kept secret in the Michigan sports world - that Michigan men's lacrosse would be making the jump to D-1 next season, with women's lacrosse to follow in 2012-13. Details here in the MGoBlue roundup. It's extremely exciting to be the first team in 30 years to make the jump to D-1 lacrosse, and Michigan's dominant varsity club side finally moves up to the top level. The next couple seasons expect Michigan to play in a hodgepodge of venues, but you can be sure that Dave Brandon is crafting a plan for a dedicated lacrosse facility to compete with the best in the nation. For an introduction to the team, watch this series of video blogs.

WCBN hopes to broadcast Michigan men's lacrosse next season when the facilities afford us a steady internet connection and power source.

That's going to do it for now. Thanks for reading, hope to see you again soon!

The Director's Seat - Andy's Blog

This is probably a one-off that I'm passing off as the start of something grander to legitimize not studying for my last exam of 2011 over here in the Netherlands, but it's fun to dream. I'm well aware that the field of sports + pop culture combo blogging is quite crowded, but its crowded because it's kind of fun. This will almost certainly be a summer-only feature, and we'll switch back to a sports-only format once we have Michigan athletics to broadcast again. For now, bookmark this right next to your Simmons and Deadspin tabs.

Entertainment

Summer is either upon us or right around the corner, and there has always been a distinct "summer" style of music that I really enjoy. It's light, breezy, and jangly, and two new releases from hotly tipped bands have finally hit the interwebs.

First up is Cults' eponymously titled debut album, due May 31st, streaming exclusively via NPR. You can find it here. I just caught Cults in Amsterdam and they were really good, and this album starts as strong as any I've listened to all year. It's pleasant pop music for a pleasant summer. Here's the third track, "You Know What I Mean," which was a stunner live.

The much anticipated new album from Atlanta punks Black Lips, Arabia Mountain, has made its way to the internet ahead of its June 7 release date, and on first listen it sounds like all the concerns fans had about new producer Mark Ronson were unfounded. Perhaps slightly more sedate than their past albums, Arabia Mountain is still sure to be one of the most talked about albums of 2011. Here's a sample.

The only band whose album has actually already come out, Explosions in the Sky returned in 2011 with Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. The album is more of the same from the Austin-based band, which is to say atmospheric, soaring rock void of vocals. The result can be chilling if you're patient enough with the songs.

If that sound is familiar, it's because EITS provided much of the music for both the movie and TV versions of Friday Night Lights, which leads me to my next segment...

Everyone is watching Friday Night Lights on NBC, right? Because it's an incredible show, and in basically every way the best. Much more than a football drama (it doesn't hurt to be a football fan), this show captures human relationships better than any show I've ever watched, and it is a wholly engrossing viewing experience. The fifth (and final) season aired last fall on DirecTV, and NBC is in the middle of the fifth season now (Friday nights, 8 pm ET). Seriously, if you haven't already, do yourself the favor and start from the beginning and grow with this series. You couldn't ask for a better series. You'll find yourself wishing Michigan could hire Coach Eric Taylor to be a QB coach or something, I promise. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose. Here's an introduction for the uninitiated.

I won't get into more TV for now, as most shows I watch have wrapped up their seasons, but everyone should be doing their best to stay up to date with Parks and Recreation.

Finally, Vulture brings us a handy guide to summer movies in a form most of you should find familiar: F, Marry, Kill: The Summer Movie Edition. It's full of great looking movies to be released this Summer, but perhaps the most important revelation is that there is going to be a 4th Spy Kids movie! I loved the first one, when I was 11, but the last two weren't worth watching. I won't bother posting all the trailers that look good, but suffice it to say I will certainly be seeing Harry Potter, The Debt, and 30 Minutes or Less in theaters.

Here's the trailer for 30 Minutes or Less, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, and Danny McBride - a dream team of sorts. Be warned the trailer is NSFW.

There are some really great looking documentaries included in that lineup, which should serve as a reminder to take full advantage of the Michigan Theater's summer documentary series running June-August! Their Facebook page has all the details. A personal suggestion? Blood Into Wine, a documentary about Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's winery operation, featuring a whole slew of comedians, musicians, and actors.

(Inter)national Sports

Novak Djokovic's amazing start to 2011 continues as the French Open gets underway at Roland Garros. Djoko is now 38-0 to start the year and chasing all kinds of history. Rafael Nadal has owned the clay in Paris for quite some time now, but Djokovic could be on target to knock Nadal off and claim his first French Open title. S.L. Price wrote a great piece in the latest Sports Illustrated that's worth your time. Find it here.

Michigan alum and benefactor Fred Wilpon is in the news again, this time for criticizing stars Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran in the midst of the Mets' on and off the field struggles. He doesn't say anything particularly wrong, but the candor is unusual. It appears that all three stars are in play for moves elsewhere.

Last night Joakim Noah became the second high profile player caught on TV dropping a homophobic slur, and while he quickly apologized, it will always come off as hollow. The NBA will almost certainly levy a fine like they did against Kobe Bryant, but none of this addresses the larger problem that homophobic slurs are a popular component of jock culture. With the recent news that Suns CEO Rick Welts is openly gay, the issue of homophobia in the NBA and in sports culture at large has been brought to the forefront, where it should be addressed candidly. It's time to hold athletes to a standard of basic human decency, and Steve Nash appears to be leading the pack.

Though Lance Armstrong has been dogged by doping allegations his entire career in a sport notorious for widespread doping, some of the strongest allegations yet have emerged from former teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincappie. 60 Minutes has the video report. Lance has always enjoyed a strong defense from sports fans and the American media, and it will be interesting to see whether these overwhelmingly damning allegations can finally tarnish his record-setting image. I've always found myself rooting for Armstrong and dismissing doping rumors as the work of the jealous French, but now we're forced to confront whether former American teammates would lie about Armstrong using illegal substances.

Chelsea F.C. fired respected manager Carlo Ancelotti yesterday, despite finishing second in the English Premier League, and winning the league in 2009-10. Roman Abramovich is a madman. Meanwhile, my Arsenal limped to a pathetic finish in the EPL, going from in the running for four trophies to fourth place in the EPL in a mere couple of months. So is the wild world of international football.

Michigan

Revenue sports are done for the year, and football recruiting will be the subject of dedicated posts throughout the summer. If you've been paying attention at all you should know that Brady Hoke and Co. are absolutely destroying it on the recruiting trail, and are on pace for Michigan's best recruiting class in recent memory. So that's fun.

In more somber news, Michigan was eliminated from the NCAA softball tournament yesterday after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Kentucky that featured a 7th-inning collapse. The loss not only ends the season for Coach Hutch, but also marks the end of the historic careers of Jordan Taylor and Dorian Shaw. Big, big holes to fill next season. Recap on MGoBlue.com.

Lion Kim continues to be awesome, and Michigan surged to a win at their NCAA regional to earn a place in the NCAA championships in Oklahoma. Kim shot a career-best 65 to pace Michigan. He'll go down as one of Michigan's all-time greats, and treated M fans everywhere to quite a thrill following him at the Masters. The season is far from over for Michigan, which will be looking to pull the massive upset and take down #1 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Recap on MGoBlue.com.

That's going to do it for now. Please leave feedback here, or hit me up on Twitter , and we'll see about making this a regular summer feature if people like it.

Most importantly, this thing needs a proper name if it's going to continue. Suggestions appreciated and acknowledged!

Darius Morris' correct call

Look, we were all disappointed when Darius Morris decided to venture forth into the NBA. We all knew what a great team we would've had last year. However, this is not like Manny Harris' decision to leave early. Everyone predicted Manny to be a second rounder at best, and then he ended up undrafted. However, Morris has clearly received different information. Sporting News and nbadraft.net each have Morris all the way up to the seventeenth pick of the draft, to the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Hoops Report has Morris going 21st to the Trailblazers. While there are still some big mock drafts leaving Morris out of the first round (Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick for example) but the general consensus is that Morris is a first-round pick. There's still a lot of time for his stock to rise or fall, but based on the information he had come deadline time (to stay in the draft or pull out) he made the right decision based on the information available to him.

Semester Wrap Up

As I'm sure you can tell from a lack of activity over the last couple weeks, the 2010-11 WCBN Sports season has drawn to a close. We're done with official programming for the summer (though we may pop up here and there with a spring sport or a podcast), and it's been one heck of a year for the department. From the Denarding in South Bend and the Lexi Zimmerman show at Cliff Keen to the Big Chill and Big Dance, we've been there for some of the greatest Michigan moments ever. Hell, WCBN even got to broadcast a hockey national championship game. Sure there have been some lows, namely that debacle in Columbus, the Indiana Hoosier traffic management team, and flag football team Gus' Johnson's playoff loss, but on a whole we've made it to the end of another great year and have plenty to add to WCBN Sports lore.

Rest assured that we'll be discussing new ways to grow and improve the product WCBN Sports puts out, and we're hoping to come back in the Fall stronger than ever. Nothing makes us happier than knowing people are listening and enjoying our broadcasts and sports talk, and we'd all like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who supported us this past year. If you like what we do, your job now is to spread the word about WCBN Sports! This blog will be periodically updated throughout the summer, our Twitter account @WCBNSports will remain active, and we'll keep everybody informed about upcoming events, programming, etc. We love our listeners, and not only do we hope you return next season, but we also hope you bring a new listener or two into the fold. Thank you so much for all your support!

Go Blue!

WCBN Sports

Listen: Baseball v. Illinois

Listen live as Jeff Turner covers game two of the double header against Illinois at 2:30pm EST.

Questions/Comments about the Spring Game

1. How did Rich Rodriguez completely ignore Tony Anderson for 3 years?
- I don't know what everybody else saw, but I saw somebody who (based on admittedly flimsy evidence) should have at least been given a chance last year.

2. Is the underwhelming performance by Devin Gardner a good thing?
- I don't doubt DG's ability, but one of our monster quarterback recruits watching on TV might...which could be a good thing?

3. Had the spring game referees ever seen Denard Robinson run?
- I know they're trying to protect the quarterback, but some of the times that they blew plays dead I am certain that Denard had at least 5 yards left in him.

4. It's nice to see Mattison mix up packages and move around his best player.
- Mike Martin rushing off the outside like a linebacker and forcing running backs to try to pick him up on their own was refreshing to see.

5. More Mike Cox please.
- Give that MAN the damn ball.

6. No wide receiver deserves the #1 jersey.
- Too many drops yesterday and in years past.

7. It was nice to see the shotgun.
- Yes, Michigan liked to run a lot of sets out of the Power-I on offense, but every once in a while coach Hoke catered to the talents of Denard (such as the first play of the practice) and I appreciated that.

8. Should we be worried about the fact that the first team offense looked pretty lackluster as a unit?
- I don't think so. My mathematical reasoning:
Offense that ranks 9th in yards- Steve Schilling+ new system = Probably still pretty good

9. Was the defense that good, or was the offense that bad?
- There was compromise on behalf of both parties, but I do think that this defense looked worlds better than last year.

10. Is the spring game really an accurate way to determine anything?
- No, but it sure is fun to watch.

NCAA Hockey National Championship Michigan-Minnesota Duluth

Michigan is skating for its 10th national title in program history. The broadcast starts at 6:50 EASTERN time. Adam Brewster and Peter Saul have the call.

(Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/lEOi)

Michigan-North Dakota in The Frozen Four

Listen live to Adam Brewster and Peter Saul from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Michigan takes on North Dakota at 8:20 Eastern.

Michigan-North Dakota in the Frozen Four. Broadcast starts 8:20 Eastern. (Broadcasting live at http://ustre.am/lEOi)

LISTEN LIVE to Michigan take on Colorado College in the West Regional Championship of the NCAA Tournament. Adam Brewster and Mike Lewandowski on the call.